


Beautiful Enigmas

by KingJulienne



Category: Free!
Genre: Anniversaries, College, Cute, Drabble Collection, Established Hazuki Nagisa/Ryuugazaki Rei, Established Relationship, Flower Crowns, Fluff, I just wanted to write some cute Reigisa things tbh, Kisses, M/M, Nagisa loves him anyway, Nagisa puns, Rei is a dork, Short & Sweet, Swim Club, old fic, reigisa - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-17
Updated: 2018-06-17
Packaged: 2019-05-24 11:45:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14954079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingJulienne/pseuds/KingJulienne
Summary: A collection of drabbles and short stories about Nagisa and Rei.





	Beautiful Enigmas

**[1]: Flower Kings**

Nagisa hummed a tune without name, his fingers intertwined with Rei’s. The shorter led his taller one through the field, the grass whispering at their ankles and the heather flowers greeting them with bright yellow and white centers.

The sole certainty about this trip into the field was the location. As though he wore it like a badge of honor, Nagisa prided in finding ways to surprise Rei. The surprise couldn’t lie in the location; the flowers by the train tracks being one of Rei’s most important places went without saying. It was the first place where Nagisa called Rei beautiful, after all. The surprise, then, had to lie in what they were going to accomplish here.

Adjusting his glasses with his free hand, Rei decided to pester some questions. “Nagisa-kun, will you ever tell me what we’re doing here?” he asked, the breeze sweeping across his hair.

Nagisa tossed a grin over his shoulder. “It’s a secret, Rei-chan,” he said. Rei opened his mouth to protest, but Nagisa turned away from him before he could, and the shorter continued further from the train tracks; in the deeper field, where the flowers grew greater in number.

They halted in the thick of the flowers. Rei felt confident that he might receive some answers. Nagisa pushed him down into the flowers, onto his knees.

The confusion worsened. As Rei looked up at Nagisa, Nagisa folded his hands behind his back and leaned forward. “Cover your eyes!” he said before Rei could question their purpose here.

Blinking, Rei furrowed his brow. “Can’t I just close them?”

“Nope,” Nagisa straightened and tapped the air with a finger, “because that’s cheating, Rei-chan,” Nagisa said, nodding his head in the finality. He grinned at Rei, a smile that forced his eyes closed. “Besides, it’s a surprise, so cover your eyes!”

Rei sighed. It seemed he had to comply in order to get answers. “Alright,” he said. Rei removed his glasses, folded them, and sat them on his knees. He covered his hands with his eyes. “Is this good?”

Nagisa hummed. He sounded close to Rei, and Rei blushed under his hands. Then Nagisa sounded a distance. “Okay, close your eyes, too!”

“Close them, too?” Rei repeated, his brow furrowed.

“Yes, Rei-chan, because no cheating allowed,” Nagisa said. “Even if you’re blind as a bat!”

“I am not blind as a bat; and if I’m already covering my hands with my eyes, I won’t be able to see anyway,” Rei said.

“Just do it, Rei-chan!” Nagisa said with a little whine. With a little sigh, Rei closed his eyes as well. The grass rustled in his compliance, Nagisa’s humming and little laughter growing distant. It changed in volume the more the grass and flowers rustled, rising and falling, like breath and the breeze.

He shifted a bit, and Nagisa snapped at him not to move, either. Rei would ask why, but he attached it onto the whole “cheating” prevention campaign Nagisa was on. He heard him humming in thought, and roots snapping free of the earth.

He fathomed the possibilities as to what Nagisa could be doing. A bouquet, maybe? For what occasion, however? Just because? Did Rei forget something? He marked all their important days on his calendar. Nagisa’s birthday, the day they met, the day Rei joined the swim club. Their anniversary, on top of all that.

Nagisa grunted a little as he plopped in the grass in front of Rei. “Did you miss me, Rei-chan?” Nagisa asked him.

Rei huffed a little. “Impossible. You never left.”

“Not even a little bit?” Nagisa said; there was a pout in his voice.

Rei complied, his cheeks pinking. “A little bit,” he agreed.

Nagisa giggled in response. “Hooray,” he cheered; the happiness over such a little thing was adorable.

The breeze talked with the grass and flowers around them; Rei heard the train pass. Nagisa’s legs touched up against Rei’s knees, a constant reminder that he never left during their silence.

Rei wiggled his feet to usher feeling into them. “Are you finished yet?” he asked.

“No, Rei-chan!” Nagisa scolded, but Rei hardly felt so. “Patience, patience.”

Sighing, Rei shifted his knees, brushing against Nagisa. “My knees are starting to cramp.”

“Just a minute more,” Nagisa sang, sounding preoccupied with work. Whatever work he tasked himself with.

Rei bit his lip; if he sat on his legs any longer, they’d cramp and numb. “Nagisa-kun, I really must—”

Nagisa cheered. “Aha! Done!”

The chance to ask fallen away, Nagisa plucked Rei’s hands off his eyes. After being blinded for so long, the sunlight made him squint and blink. Rei replaced his glasses, clarity welcome. A halo of flowers crowned Nagisa’s head, his eyes watching Rei with expectant excitement. He even bounced where he sat.

“So, so?” he asked. “What do you think?”

Rei tilted his head to the side. “A crown of flowers?” he said.

Nagisa beamed at him. Turning around, he faced Rei, holding another in his hands. “I made one for you, too,” he said.  He reached up as Rei leaned down, and Nagisa crowned Rei with a halo of flowers, too.

“There! Now we’re the kings of the flower field,” Nagisa told Rei, clasping his ankles, grinning at Rei. Rei blushed. “Isn’t that cool, Rei-chan?” He found himself laughing. Nagisa managed to surprise him again.

Smiling himself, that smile contagious, Rei set his forehead to Nagisa’s. “Very,” he said and rubbed their foreheads, tangling the blue and gold of their hair; also royal colors. “I love it,” Rei added. “Thank you, Nagisa-kun.” Rei chuckled a little. “Or should I say Nagisa-ou-sama?”

“Oh, I like that!” Nagisa agreed. He cleared his throat, Rei opened his eyes to regard him. “You’re very welcome, Rei-ou-sama,” Nagisa said, deepening his voice to heighten the importance.

Rei adjusted his glasses, summoning, even over-summoning his inner, king’s grace. “And what is our first order of business, Nagisa-ou-sama?”

Nagisa hummed. “Oh, I know!” Nagisa tackled Rei with a hug, hugging him around his neck. In the momentum, Nagisa pressed his lips to Rei’s. Rei fell back with a muffled cry out, his eyes wide and his arms flinging to catch Nagisa by the small of his back. Heat surged up Rei’s neck to his face, chasing red into his cheeks. Nagisa drew back, blushing himself. “Ah, I went a little overboard,” he said, yet he smiled. His legs kicked behind him, his arms still around Rei’s neck. “But now we’ve consummated the crowning ceremony!”

Rei smiled. “Oh, I see,” he said, laughing. “This must go on my calendar, so we can celebrate every year.”

Grinning, Nagisa agreed. “Huzzah!” Nagisa looked up and frowned. “Aw, your flower crown.”

Rei leaned his head back against the grass. From what he could see, the crown had fallen off his head, some of the flowers departed from the binding. Rolling so they lay on their sides, Rei picked up the flower crown and more flowers fell loose.

“Oh, I broke it,” Nagisa said. Rei could hear the disappointment in his voice. He turned and saw it on his face; his entire mood had fallen. Nagisa worried his bottom lip and stared at the broken crown, a wrinkle in his brow and his hands clenching the hemming to his shorts.

Even so, Rei smiled. With a sigh, Rei turned away from Nagisa and pushed up his glasses. “Well! This simply will not do!” He set the crown in the field beside him. “We must begin production of another crown immediately!”

Rei rose to his feet and moved through the field, picking flowers with strong yet bendable stalks. He found ones that would work for the braiding pattern Nagisa used for the other one. He returned to Nagisa, who looked at Rei now with wonder; Rei could see the excitement building as he set the flowers in Nagisa’s lap.  “Will these do?”

Nagisa looked at the flowers, then at Rei. A smile fanned out on his face, and he giggled. “Of course!” he said. “But we’ll need a few more, to make it even better!” Cradling the flowers in his arm as a bouquet, Nagisa stood to his feet.

“Should I blind myself again?” Rei asked. Rei moved to remove his glasses again. Nagisa took his hand before he could.

“This time you help, too!” Nagisa said. “I’ll even teach you how to make them!” Rei blinked in awe. Nagisa bounced a little. “Come on, hurry, hurry, Rei-chan.”

Rei laughed. “I’m coming, I’m coming,” he said, closing his hand around Nagisa’s and rising to his feet.

United this time, they bantered over, chose, and laughed about the flowers in an important place given another important day, making flower crowns.

 

 

**[2]: Rei’s Jacket**

And it had been so warm when they got to school, too.

Nagisa shivered and hugged himself as he waited for Rei to get his things. Rei warned him this morning that it was going to be colder than he thought, but even so, Nagisa left the house without a jacket. He stood before the exit, trotting in place to heat his legs.

“It’s so cold!” he whined. He rubbed his palms up and down his arms, pouting as it did nothing against the wind howling in his face and through his hair. He shivered violently. “Hurry, Rei-chan, I wanna get home and make hot chocolate!”

With a sigh, Rei showed up beside him and announced they could walk now.

“No, it’s too cold,” Nagisa said. “I’m gonna stay here!”

“You’ll starve, Nagisa-kun,” Rei said. “And the cold outside will permeate the building and you’ll freeze. So it’s improbable.”

Nagisa booed him.

Rei sighed in response. “Nagisa-kun, I told you to bring a jacket,” Rei said. Nagisa turned to Rei, who wore a winter coat over his school uniform. “The news said it was going to rain today.”

Rei wasn’t surprised when Nagisa booed him. “I don’t watch the news, Rei-chan, it’s so boring,” he said. Rei sighed, rubbing his forehead.

Rei paused his scolding to shrug out of his jacket—he had a high body temperature and tolerance for the cold anyway—and draped it over Nagisa’s shoulders. At the extra weight Nagisa made a noise of surprise, turning to blink large, wondering eyes at Rei. Rei blushed a little; Nagisa swallowed up in his jacket. It was also a bit big on Rei, but still.

Rei cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses, taking a strict yet not unkind tone with Nagisa. “You should be more careful, Nagisa-kun,” he lectured. “If I wasn’t here, you’d shiver and get sick.”

“Ah, it’s so warm!” Nagisa said, ignoring Rei’s lecture, and tugged the jacket higher onto his shoulders; he pushed his arms through the sleeves and wiggled them a bit, considering the cloth draped over his hands.

He played in the jacket like a small child and looked so happy to be doing so. Rei watched him with a bit of amusement, also a bit of pride that it was his jacket making Nagisa so happy.

“Nagisa-kun, are you even listening to me?” Rei asked, trying to sound strict. He sighed and put his hands on his hips.

Nagisa turned to Rei, baring his teeth as he smiled. He looped his arms through Rei’s and hugged him around his waist. “Thank you, Rei-chan! I’ll be more careful next time.” Rei adjusted his glasses, face heating up so much, he probably wouldn’t need his jacket anyway.

“You’d better,” he said. “Can’t have you catching a cold.”

“I’m sure you’d take care of me then, too, Rei-chan,” Nagisa said. Rei didn’t doubt it either. Nagisa hummed and tilted his head to the side. “Though, I do like wearing Rei-chan’s jacket, so maybe not!”

Before Rei could scold him, Nagisa dashed out into the rain.

“Nagisa! It’s raining! Hold on!”

He opened his umbrella and rushed out after Nagisa, who was dancing in the rain and calling Rei to hurry up.

 

 

**[3]: Sleepyheads**

The afternoon set in shades of peach and plum, Rei and Nagisa found themselves amongst those riding the train home.

Swim practice had gotten out a while ago, and considering how tired it left Rei most days it was a good idea to take the train back instead of jogging home today; practice had been extended with a lot more laps and conditioning. It was good for him. Tiring, but good. Rei accepted this soreness as a portion of bettering his swimming skills, and bettering his position on the team.

Stifling a yawn and failing to adjust his glasses afterward, Rei made a conscious effort to maintain proper train posture; though his back may lean against the seat and his knees may part a bit more in his effort to remain conscious, the rocking of the train challenged his efforts, as did the comforting warmth at his right side.

Nagisa was who leaned against him, yawning into the open and resting his head against his shoulder with a mumbled, sleepy promise to move it later. Feigning awareness was beyond his level of tired; he worked hard today, too, both cheering and swimming.

Rei glanced in his direction, Nagisa’s head slightly bouncing against his shoulder with the shaking of the train. Rei smiled, making sure not to move much more than the train rocked him so Nagisa could sleep peacefully. After being his cheerleader all day and swimming just as fervently, with just as much passion, Rei didn’t want to disturb his sleep.

He thought he might chance a kiss to his hair though; just a little one, a gentle press of his lips. It touched all his gratefulness into Nagisa’s head, a seed of affection for all Nagisa had done today, and all that he was. Rei liked sneaking kisses on the train, to be honest; if Nagisa found ways to surprise Rei while awake, Rei could always find ways to surprise Nagisa as the teen slept.

Satisfied after pressing his adoration for Nagisa into his head, Rei turned and lay his cheek upon Nagisa’s hair, soft locks wrought with a dampness from pool water and the scent of chlorinated strawberries.

Soon the train won its challenge against Rei and lulled him to sleep with its rocking, too. He just barely missed the “I love you, Rei-chan,” Nagisa mumbled in his sleep.

And Rei hoped he managed to say the, “I love you, too,” he drifted into dreams with.

 

 

**[4]: Take A Break.**

Of course Rei knew that he’d pass his midterms.

But that knowing was a two edged sword, one side confident of success and the other side anxious of failure. This was the in between.

That’s precisely why Rei had all his notes and textbooks open, power points scattered about his computer screen like virtual sticky notes of to-do lists, to study lists. He dually armed himself with pen and highlighter (thank god he developed ambidexterity) extra marking tools lined up and ready to die for the sake of Rei’s grades. Where the tools brimmed with new ink, Rei energized himself with the scent of brewing coffee that he sometimes took into his body until he remembered he was only fond of the scent, not the taste. He combated sleep for the sake of embedding every formula, every principle, every idea so deep into his memory that, should his life be on the line for it, he’d recite every ounce of information on the spot and be free within thirty minutes. Or even less, if he talked fast enough.

He sighed and blinked his tired eyes, pushing up his glasses. The darkness held at bay by the lamp in his dorm shining overhead he poured so deeply into his notes his roommate was surprised Rei hadn’t found another Rei between the lines. Rei hadn’t seen anyone, not even his own reflection for the past twenty-seven hours, so it was highly implausible.

The realization that he’d stayed up all night and ruined his sleep schedule was shunted to the back of his line of concerns to wait until after he passed his tests. The knock on the door was almost shoved that direction as well, but then the lock jimmied, and the chambers clunked.

He snapped his head up; someone was trying to break into his room.

The panic setting in (even worse, now that he was twenty-seven hours stressed and tired), Rei frowned, determined.

“Not today, unwelcomed visitor,” he said lowly, closing one of his textbooks, testing the weight of it and its probability of working as a projectile. He may have been tired, but adrenaline rushed through his veins; he’d find the strength to decapitate an intruder.

He egged them inside, his internal scope deciding just where to take aim. The door flung open with such ferocity the book he aimed to throw was turned into a shield for his heart instead, the thick book slamming against his chest.

“Rei!” Nagisa boomed into the room.

Rei dropped the book.

His voice was both irritated and relieved. So was Rei.

Rei sighed, holding onto some of the tension in order to keep himself from passing into unconsciousness. Nagisa skipped into the room, bursting with so much energy, he glowed from it. Rei wished he had some, so he could get through the remnants of his preparations. The looming pressure of tests weighed him to the spot and had him looking frustrated at his books.

“Rei!” Nagisa called again, his hands on his hips. “You’re making a sad face.”

Rei looked at him. “Hmm? No, no, you just startled me,” Rei said, with a chuckle and a smile (albeit tiredly) at him. Nagisa dragged the desk chair into the middle of the room and straddled its back, spinning around and closer to Rei on the bed until his leg tapped against the bedside.

He grinned at Rei. “You must be really out of it, Rei,” Nagisa said, laughing a bit. “Because I remembered to knock this time.”

That he did; it was a practice that took a long time coming. Funny, how the knocking prepared Rei little to not at all for the way Nagisa threw doors open.

“I heard from your roomie that you were studying,” Nagisa pointed out, swinging from side to side in the chair. Rei could vouch for that. “But you look more like you’re stu-dying.”

Well.

There wasn’t much difference. Thus, Rei could vouch for that, too.

“You really need a B-rei-k, Rei,” Nagisa said, laughing a bit as he used the pun.

Rei barely heard it. He would’ve rolled his eyes if it didn’t take so much energy.

“Ah, but,” Rei said, sitting up and stooping over his books and notes, “I have to finish-”

Nagisa chopped him in the head and Rei had to cut himself off before he bit the end of his tongue.

“Take a break, Rei!” Nagisa scolded him. He spoke over Rei making to protest, “Please? You’ve been studying for God knows how long.”

Rei sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Take a break?

Rei’s mind suddenly flooded with images of lying back on the bed, asleep with Nagisa tucked to his side, food in his belly and stress away from him as long as he dreamed.

He could smell the food now. No, literally, he smelled food.

He looked down to find a lunch box shoved under his nose.

“Here,” Nagisa said. “We all pitched and made you a Good Luck Box!”

“A…” Rei choked up, taking it in both of his hands. He smiled at it, cracking the box open. Nagisa leaned forward as Rei lost himself in the kindness and filled his nostrils with the warmth of the box.

Among his favorite things to eat lining the outer edge of the lunch,  within the center there was mackerel, and rice balls, and something strawberry and sweet, a notecard with the words “Good Luck, Rei!” written in green, red, blue, and pink tapped to the inside of the lid.

Rei laughed a bit. “I’m honored,” he said, picking up his head to smile and thank Nagisa properly, “Will you tell everyone I said thank you, Nagisa-”

Nagisa pecked Rei on the lips. Of course, Rei blushed in surprise (and a bit in embarrassment because of the chapped, dry nature of his lips), closing his eyes and kissing back, the warmth of the gesture working through him. Nagisa drew back a tad, his own cheeks bright.

“So you’ll take a break?” he asked. Rei cleared his throat, almost huffing at how Nagisa felt Rei needed a kiss as well to usher his judgment.

Though, he wasn’t going to lie: Rei had a mind to take more than a break after such a touch, and though it wriggled about in the back of his mind that he should keep studying, he pushed that to the back of the line on his lists of concerns.

He knew he was going to pass, even with a two edge sword held against that knowing.

“Eating and sleep are imperative to retaining information,” Rei admitted, a smile on his face. “I can take a short break.”

Nagisa grinned and cheered. “Hooray!”

He tackled Rei in a hug, and Rei cried out, holding the food upright to keep it from spilling, kicking a handful of his books and notes off the bed as he fell back.

“Agh! Nagisa-kun!” Rei said, trying to look at which notes he destroyed and what Nagisa had laid himself on top of. Instead of apologizing, Nagisa sat up beside him and brought Rei up with him.

“Eat, eat,” he urged him, patting Rei’s lap. “Then we can cuddle and rock you to sleep!” Nagisa giggled, grinning. “You’re really d-rei-ned, Rei!”

He snorted at the pun on his name. “I’m surprised you didn’t use Hoo-Rei,” he said, biting into a rice ball as Nagisa hugged his side, his head against his arm. “Are you slipping, Nagisa?”

“Ooooh, I’ll use that one next time,” Nagisa noted. “Don’t wor-Rei, I’m just getting warmed up!”

That could only mean he was in for a time of puns on his name, and really, he wouldn’t have had it any other way. As he ate, Rei found himself studying the way Nagisa’s eyes lit up as he talked, the way his soft voice carried as though it was the strongest sound, the gentle way he rocked Rei as he chatted about everything and things that made little to no sense, and of course, who could miss the way he laughed after a pun on Rei’s name?

The two edged sword convinced Rei was going to pass pulled away from his mind and let him relax in Nagisa’s presence, eating, laughing, and adding a word or two when Nagisa gave him space to answer.  

 

 

 

  **[5] No Big Deal**

_  
_ Push.

Rei has a handful of seconds left, running the clock in his head. If he shaves even one off, he’ll know he’s improved on his time.

He flip-turns under the water and pushes with all his might. He carves through the water, pulling his arms through with each big, calculated swing. His goggles begin to slip, his shoulders ache and his core feels the tug of hours of swim.

Push.

He pushes onward, nearing the end, hearing Nagisa cheer for him over the splash of his arms through the waves. By the time his hands touch the fiberglass he snaps his head up, and his goggles fly off into the water behind him.

“T-Time?” he gasps. Each breath tastes of chlorine and that uncomfortable metallic taste of strain.

Nagisa checks the clock and smiles. It’s not bitter, no, but it’s not assuring either. “Almost, Rei-chan,” he tells him. He hands Rei his glasses, and as he fumbles them on, he sees that he’s got the same time as before. He grits his teeth, and his disappointment must be clear. “But maybe tomorrow? You’ve been swimming all day, you’re tired, Rei-chan.”

Rei wants to say that that’s no excuse, but Nagisa offers his hand, and a comforting smile.

“Let’s go home, okay?” Nagisa says.

At the thought of home, Rei realizes how tired he is. His body is sore from extra practice, and Nagisa does have to lock up the pool before they leave. He relents, not wanting to keep Nagisa for any longer than he has to, although they are going to the same place. Home tends to mean one house or the other nowadays. Never separate. 

Rei takes Nagisa’s hand and together, they lift him out of the water. Nagisa doesn’t move much—he’s grown fond of being in Rei’s space—and he leans close, brushing Rei’s cheek with his lips.

“I believe in you, Rei-chan,” Nagisa says against his face. It heats almost instantly, and Rei’s chest flutters on light wings and breeze.

Rei sputters his response and he’s not sure it’s coherent, but his cheek flushes darker red with Nagisa’s giggling.

“It’s, it’s no big deal,” Rei says, trying to sound more haughtier than how infatuated he feels, rejuvenated by his embarrassment and his affection for Nagisa that he gets to his feet quickly. He heads for the locker room to hide his blush. Nagisa laughs brighter, and asks him not to run, but Rei doesn’t turn back. He powers forward.

Nagisa calls to him again, “Ah, Rei, wait-”

Smack.

Rei’s head thunks against the door and he staggers back. “Agh,” he grunts, rubbing the injury. It pulses with ache, and he tries to rub it away to at least a dull throb.

“Rei, are you okay?” Nagisa asks, coming over. “It wasn’t the kiss was it-”

“No!” Rei stiffens. “Me? Thrown off by something so little, no!” He laughs and puts his hand on his hip, opening the locker room door. “I’m fine, Nagisa-kun. Thank you for your-”

As Rei steps into the locker room, he bumps roughly against the wall just by the door.

Nagisa’s voice is full of amused teasing as he says, “You’re blind even with your glasses on, Rei-chan!” He also sounds like he knows that's not truly what it is, and Rei can't cover his steps fast enough. 

To be so flustered, by just a little kiss.

Rei makes to complain, but Nagisa takes his hand and leads him inside instead. The way he laces their fingers together, even over such a short distance doesn’t ease the way red spreads on Rei’s face.  He supposes he doesn't mind it. Not really.


End file.
